The Phillies have now won six of their last seven as they take on the powerful LA Dodgers in the first of a three-game set on Monday night. Let’s analyze this matchup and start the week off right by cashing another one of our MLB picks!
Philadelphia Phillies vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
Monday, June 14, 2021 – 10:10 PM EDT at Dodger Stadium
After sweeping three from the Pirates the Dodgers followed that by taking two of three from the Rangers including Sunday’s 5-3 victory. LA’s starter, Walker Buehler, remained undefeated by pitching six scoreless innings and holding Texas to just five hits. The Dodgers held a 5-0 lead until the ninth inning when the Rangers tagged Phil Bickford for three runs before Kenley Jansen shut the rally down and picked up the save.
Mookie Betts not only homered for the Dodgers but scored three of the five runs. The former AL MVP and four-time All-Star is batting just .253 with seven dingers on the season after 57 games. Some have suggested he move out of the leadoff spot but manager, Dave Roberts, has been unwavering in his decision to keep the 28-year-old speedster at the top of the order.
Betts had gone over three weeks without a home run until he snapped that streak on Thursday with a first-inning solo shot. And then only a few days later, he connected on another one which could be the first sign of him getting back in the home run groove. Following Thursday’s 6-3 win over the Pirates, Betts was asked about his first blast in a long while.
“I’ve been working a lot, as always. I feel like I’ve been pretty close here lately and I’ve been hitting the ball harder more consistently. I don’t know about a home run, but I do feel like I’m swinging the bat a little bit better.”
Phillies Picking Up the Pace
After winning six of their last seven the Phillies are now within three games of the top spot in the NL East, currently held by the New York Mets. In their most recent outing, Philadelphia blanked the Yankees, 7-0, and swept the two-game mini-series over the weekend. "We have a team that can be an all-around, really good team," said Andrew McCutchen, who was 2 for 3 with a run and two RBI. "We can hit, we can pitch and we can field. We can be that type of team."
Shortstop, Didi Gregorius, has been sidelined since May 12th with a swollen elbow but has been rehabbing down in Triple-A with the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs. However, he hit a snag when he felt tenderness in his elbow which will preclude him from action for the foreseeable future.
Wanna Make a Bet?
These teams have not met since July of 2019 but we do know that 24-year-old Spencer Howard (0-1, 4.61 ERA, 1.54 WHIP) will be chucking in a ballpark that he frequented as a kid. Howard has vacillated between a reliever and starter this year but when he has started his stints have been limited to no longer than four innings. In his last appearance, he pitched two-plus innings and held the Nationals to one hit on one unearned run in the Phillies 5-2 victory.
The Dodgers will counter with another hybrid reliever/starter in right-hander Tony Gonsolin who has been sidelined as well with shoulder inflammation. Gonsolin made his season debut last Wednesday when he allowed one run on two hits over 1.2 innings, resulting in a 2-1 win over Pittsburgh.
So, what do we have here? The early MLB odds at all of the best online sportsbooks are showing the Dodgers as high as a -175-home favorite with a starting pitcher who didn’t exactly sparkle in his debut. Meanwhile, Philadelphia is playing a solid brand of baseball and shouldn’t be getting all of this juice. The Phillies rank 12th in batting average and have three big boppers in the heart of the lineup including Bruce Harper.
This could be a perfect spot for the Phillies to jump out early and hang on against the hard-hitting Dodgers. Let’s take advantage of the bookies’ generosity and back the road hound here.
MLB Pick: Phillies +157 at BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.
